Blue Jays outfielder was 0-for-3 on Sunday afternoon against the Astros, putting his 16-game hitting streak in jeopardy. The Blue Jays afforded him one more opportunity to extend it, and it happened to be in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out. The tying run was on third base in Jose Reyes and the winning run was on second base in Jose Bautista.

Colabello reached out for a 1-2 breaking ball from closer Luke Gregerson, sending it weakly back up the middle for a walk-off two-run single. The 31-year-old has been a diamond in the rough for the Blue Jays, now batting .355/.400/.529 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 129 plate appearances this season.

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Colabello’s story is fascinating. He played independent league baseball through age 27 before the Twins signed him to a minor league deal in 2012. In December 2013, he received a $1 million offer to play in South Korea, but turned it down as he didn’t want to give up his dream of playing in the majors.

Sunday’s walk-off win extends the Blue Jays’ winning streak to five games, putting them at 28-30, leaving them just 4.5 games behind the first-place Yankees.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has reversed course and will continue to pay minor leaguers. Fisher tells Slusser, “I concluded I made a mistake.” He said he is also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees.

The A’s decided in late May to stop paying paying minor leaguers as of June 1, which was the earliest date on which any club could do so after an MLB-wide agreement to pay minor leaguers through May 31 expired. In the event, the A’s were the only team to stop paying the $400/week stipends to players before the end of June. Some teams, notable the Royals and Twins, promised to keep the payments up through August 31, which is when the minor league season would’ve ended. The Washington Nationals decided to lop off $100 of the stipends last week but, after a day’s worth of blowback from the media and fans, reversed course themselves.

An @sfchronicle exclusive: A's owner John Fisher reverses course, apologizes: team will pay minor-leaguers; "I concluded I made a mistake," he tells me. He's also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees: https://t.co/8HUBkFAaBx)